Alberta premier touts carbon capture technology while environmentalists slag it

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks on invoking her government’s sovereignty act over federal clean energy regulations, in Edmonton on Monday November 27, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson.

While Alberta's premier called carbon capture technology a "magic formula" Tuesday at a major conference about it in Edmonton, environmentalists say that's magical thinking.

Premier Danielle Smith, while delivering the keynote speech at the 2024 Carbon Capture Conference being attended by about 4,000 people at the Edmonton Convention Centre, touted Alberta's role in ushering in what she calls a "trailblazing technology."

"It will help to solve the environmental and sustainability problems we’re collectively facing," Smith said.

"Alberta fully intends to lead the world in this critical field."

The three-day conference runs through Thursday.

The premier said her government is spending millions to develop the technology while incentivizing industry to do the same instead of focusing on other solutions.

"All the replacements we’ve tried so far have fallen short of this magic formula, like renewables," Smith said.

Environmentalists, however, disagree that carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is a viable solution, calling the process unproven, ineffective and an expensive way to reduce emissions.

"It really is a giant get-out-of-jail-free card," Stephen Legault, a senior manager with Environmental Defence, told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday.

"Oil and gas companies love this technology because it essentially allows them to keep doing what they are already doing."

Some critics call the technology dangerous, pointing to a pipeline rupture in Mississippi that sent more than 40 people to hospital, risks Smith says Alberta can overcome.

"We have to find ways to mitigate those risks, and I am really confident," the premier said. "We've got an excellent industry record on pipeline safety."